What is Time-Based Management?

Time-based management focuses on reducing the amount of time required to complete a process. The concept is most commonly employed in the production area, where time reduction eliminates labor and inventory holding costs, thereby making a company's products more cost-competitive. A business that continually focuses on time-based management should build up a substantial advantage over its rivals over an extended period of time. This approach has multiple benefits for an organization. For example, it can result in faster customer response times, lower labor costs, and a reduced investment in inventory. It can also reduce levels of production waste, and result in shorter production development cycles.

Time-based management works most effectively when a company is not burdened by restrictive work rules, and where there is a high level of trust between management and employees regarding ongoing changes to processes.

Since time-based management seeks to shrink the time invested in a business, it can be considered a tool of the lean management philosophy.